Nighthawk Men Win On Sophomore Night

The National Park College Nighthawk men’s basketball team snapped a three-game skid Tuesday, defeating Central Baptist College, 98-84, on sophomore night.

Before the game, National Park College honored its four sophomores—Seth Duke (Gravette), Logan Willett (Faith Prep Academy), KJ Corder (Hot Springs) and Braylon Steen (Bryant)—for their groundbreaking work with growing the Nighthawks team.

Braylon Steen taking charge on Central BaptistBehind a strong start from its sophomores, National Park College (17-7) shared the ball early in the first half, finding open opportunities for scores and utilizing strong rebounding to build a 10-point lead within the game’s first 10 minutes. Paced by eight first-half three-pointers, however, the Mustangs staged a comeback in the final four minutes of the half, briefly regaining the lead. Following a late timeout, the Nighthawks erupted for a 10-2 run to close the half, leading 56-42.

In the second half, the Nighthawks padded its lead behind strong minutes from 15- and 10-point efforts from Duke and Steen, respectively. With less than three minutes remaining in the game, a late push from the Mustangs cut the Nighthawk lead to six points, 87-81, but National Park College finished on an 11-3 run to secure the victory for the final time at “The Kettle” this season.

Duke led the Nighthawks in scoring with 25 points, while Steen added 19 points with 12 rebounds and Corder finished with 16 points in the win.

National Park College closes its season in Camden Thursday against Southern Arkansas University Tech with the Nighthawk women tipping off at 5 p.m. and the Nighthawk men playing at 7 p.m. XZero Sports will stream the games live at www.xzerosports.com.

For more information on schedules, rosters and more, visit www.np.edu/basketball. Visit NJCAA Division II team stats for up-to-date NJCAA statistics on the Nighthawks. Fans can also follow the Nighthawks all season on social media.

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